Sweet Child of Mine
by CookiesForEmmy
Summary: A teenage professor and his big brother are asked to take on a rather strange task by their father. [AL spoilers] [AU]


"But, Father...why do we have to take care of her?"

Theodore winced as he felt a small bundle being placed into his arms. Bronev and Rachel smiled at him, laughing slightly at their son's expression of confusion.

"She's part of our family now, Theo," Rachel said. "All you have to do is look after her for the day. I'm sure she won't be much trouble."

Before he could say anything else, they linked arms and walked off out for their archaeology dig - well, more like a late honeymoon. Hershel came running down the stairs when the door clicked shut.

"Was what I heard correct? We have to look after...a child? Called Emmy?"

Theodore nodded. She didn't look like she was any relation of theirs'; she had dark brown curls, big, black eyes and pale skin. Apart from a few soft murmurs here and there, she'd been relatively quiet. Maybe she wouldn't be so much of a problem after all.

Bearing a smile, Hershel peered over his brother's arms at the girl. "This young lady is quite the cutie, isn't she?" he whispered. Since she seemed peaceful, he leaned forward and pressed his nose against hers. She squirmed around, flailing her little legs into the air - and in an unusual turn of events, began to scream, tears flooding from her eyes.

"Oh dear, Hershel..."

"W-What?" the elder cried. "C-Calm down, Emmy, dear! W-What could I have possibly d-done to upset her s-so quickly?"

Theodore frowned. "I wish I knew..."

They both tried to calm her down, but their efforts were fruitless. She continued screaming, anonymous to everything around her, and as if that hadn't been enough to distress Hershel already, she released a blast of...liquid on to his front. Only his front. He instantly ran to the sink before he was sick himself at the sight of it. From the corner of his eye he could see Theodore laughing - not just because he had all this gunk over himself, he'd gathered, but also because Emmy had stopped crying the moment she had released the stuff. She had now resumed her previously calm state.

_Fantastic... Just fantastic. I'm clearly no baby expert. And not a cleaning expert, either_. All the sick was coming off on to the cloth. His parents weren't exactly going to be thrilled about this. Then again, they would be even less thrilled if it was on a floor and not on him, the apparent sick magnet. _Oh, what a joke they would make about it-_

"Hershel, are you okay over there?"

His brother tried to laugh in response. "Yeah, I, er, haven't made much progress. I think I'm just going to have to bin the shirt."

"Oh..."

_What embarrassment._

"You should probably lay Emmy down to rest now," he called. "She'll be pretty tired after throwing such a tantrum." He watched as his brother followed his suggestion. They both left her be, because she clearly wasn't making any attempt at moving around...

Or was she?

* * *

In no more than a few minutes, Hershel returned from changing to find the sofa in which his brother had left Emmy on empty. Her blankets were hanging off of the edge, without an Emmy wrapped in them.

"...Theodore? Theodore!" Hersh shouted. "The child's gone!"

"W-What?!"

Theodore plummeted down the stairs. He hadn't even taken a chance to properly think over the situation when the brothers were hit with the feeling of immense worry - such a tiny creature could threatened by _so many things_! Was the door shut? Were the plug sockets covered?!

Theodore checked downstairs for Emmy whilst Hershel wandered upstairs. His parent's room? No luck. He went into his own room - ah! A little baby girl...drooling on his homework. He breathed a sigh of relief. Presumably, he could have been annoyed, but many worse things had happened that day. He was too tired to deal with them all.

_Careful, Hersh, _he thought, approaching her with caution. Little more hesitation ensued, and he scooped her up into his arms. The girl let out a small cry, but not one of fear or displeasure, much to Hershel's surprise. The pump of blood that shot through his veins almost convinced him that he and his brother were becoming _good babysitters_. (Sure, they'd almost lost their baby - _almost!_ - but still...) Yet the child hadn't caused enough havoc to satisfy herself.

"Ouch! Hey, don't pull my hair, Emmy!" The girl had pulled the strands as if they were _slingshots_! And then she was yawning, in sinc...with Hersh...

* * *

"Hershel? Hersheeeeeel?"

The younger brother hesitantly pushed open the door and was met with a curious surprise. _He...fell asleep? Whilst cradling Emmy?_ Theodore sighed with a smile of mischief his face.

_Say cheese!_


End file.
